All posts filed under: body

Swim fins

Swim Fins Program

Published by Anna Kazakova

Swim fins are fun! They are amazing training aid for swimmers! There are a lot af advantages for using swim fins: they increase fitness and cardiovascular conditioning, increase ankle flexibility, develop leg strength and improve technique. Here is a simple, mostly crawl, program for 1500 m with swim fins we did today with Swim School Kamishi in 50 m pool in the morning. Warm up/ Strech – dryland 15 min (see the program here) Warm up in water 100 m crawl 200 m medley (50 m Butterfly, 50 m Crawl back, 50 m Breast, 50 m Crawl)   Main Set 2 x 50 m leg kicks with fins crawl, your arms position: out straight in front. 4 x 50 m crawl with fins. First 50 m as fast as you can, second 50 m relax. 4 x 50 m crawl swim without fins. 4 x 50 m leg kicks butterfly with fins, arms breaststroke. Breath every second kick. 4 x 50 m crawl with fins. First 50 m as fast as you can, second 50 m …

Dryland exercises for swimmers: CRAWL

Published by Anna Kazakova

Help your body to develop muscles so the muscles will help you to swim longer and faster. Together with  Kamishi Swimming School we prepared a wonderful set of dryland exercises for swimmers that  they usually provide to their crawl swimmers. It is a selection of exercises from Swimming Anatomy book by Ian McLeod. All of them you can do at home with just a little use of equipment or without equipment at all. We start with ARMS   Close grip push up Execution: Facedown, slide both hands under your chest so that your thumbs touch along the midline of your body at nipple level. Your toes support your lower body. Holding your body in a straight line from your ankles to the top of your head, push your upper body upward until the elbows are almost locked. Lower your body until your chest is 2.5 cm off the ground. Be careful if you already have pain in the shoulder joint and avoid dropping too far into the ending position. A common mistake is to take the head …

Swimming: 7 Reasons to learn it

Published by Anna Kazakova

Have you always thinking about learning to swim but never started? Here are seven great reasons why you should learn to swim this summer! Safety first. Last year was a record year in Sweden for drowning statistics—137 deaths. So, learn to swim as an adult and be ready to save yourself…and others. Saving exercises are taught with the swimming lessons. Swimming makes you a happier person. Swimming, like many exercises, stimulates the release of endorphins. Swimming reduces stress and promotes relaxation. Being in water reduces depression—“swimming can significantly decrease both anxiety and depression” says sports psychologist Aimee C. Kimball, director of mental training at the Center for Sports Medicine at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Learning to swim is challenging and helps boost self-confidence. More often than not, adult beginners who start-out learning the breaststroke have issues with water phobias…and having a phobia of any kind is a confidence killer. Either they personally experienced a near drowning, or a loved one has. Having this phobia, unfortunately, does not only influence your relationship with water but …

HOW MUCH DOES A TRIATHLON COST? PART III: RUNNING

Published by Anna Kazakova

– Run! Run faster than the wind! – It’s a nice phrase, but a triathlete in the middle of a bike-to-run transition will probably punch you in a face if you yell that out loud! After so many kilometers on a bike, the legs just don’t move the way they should after hopping off the bike. But they are hard as stone….and only want to rest. Running gear plays a massive role in this process! Triathletes normally use extra-light running shoes like ZOOT—probably the best triathlete gear in the world. They also uses Asics, but I find them to be hard on the legs, a bit heavier and quite narrow. I have a pair of Asics gel – Tri Noosa 9, but I can’t say that I really like them. For the coming season, I’m willing to try those Swiss engineered Cloudracers. The prices for quality running shoes don’t vary much—basically $100 to $250 on the average. Here’s a tip: choosing the right running shoe for a triathlon should depend on distance and the framework of …

HOW MUCH DOES A TRIATHLON COST? PART II: BIKING

Published by Anna Kazakova

Once upon a time 365 million years ago, the early Tetrapod (Ichthyostega), a fishlike amphibian,  a meter-long creature that had the limbs and skull of an amphibian, crawled out to the groud from the water – evolution captured in transition. I think about evolution every time I crawl out of the water after swimming part of triathlons. My legs and hands don’t listen to my brain. I literally need to voice commands like “Take off goggles!” “Take off cap!” “Unzip wetsuit then run!” It is better to train before as many times as possible.   Speaking of transitions, imagine a triathlete transitioning from one part of the race to the biking part of the race. It’s a crucial section of a triathlon that requires a small investment. Biking is the most expensive part of a triathlon costs. And yes, it can be done with a single- speed or even the same bike that takes you to the grocery store and back—but most guys cannot resist the temptation of buying a brand new one for competing …

HEALTHY EATING: A CHEAP ALTERNATIVE?

Published by Ksenia Samoteeff

Do you share the common belief that eating healthy is costly? If you do, you may be surprised to know that it is not. By eating healthy, you can—in reality—save some bucks while improving your health.   EAT LESS Although choices are available when dinning out, like portion size, menu choice, and price, opting to eat at home is not only a money-saving strategy but also healthy. Did you know that our stomachs are maxed-out with two handfuls of food? Think about that the next time you gorge yourself at a Swedish buffet. To prevent undigested food from sitting idle in our intestines, we should only eat when hungry and stop when satisfied. If we use the hunger scale 0-8, where 0 represents “total hunger” and 8 represents “completely stuffed,” you should begin your meal somewhere at level 3 and stop at level 6.   STOP SNACKING Eat three meals a day and nix the snacking bit (snack only if you need to; like if you’re diabetic or work long hours). If you snack out …

What is Immunity? Key Components to Health and Longevity Explained

Published by Ksenia Samoteeff

What is good health? How do we describe a healthy person? Well, a healthy person is a lucky person whose body functions work properly, can move the way he/she wants, breathe easily, has no pain and no restrictions—and who doesn’t visit the doctor more than for ordinary check-ups. This person never gets sick when most others do—and can eat and drink whatever he/she wants without any problems. In other words, a healthy person is a person with a fine-tuned immune system. So, good health equals strong immunity. But what is immunity? Immunity is usually defined as a defence system that resists and fights viruses and infections that enter our body. However, it is more than just that. The immune system is designed to allow a human to live for at least 120 years—and not weaken after forty, fifty, or even sixty years of age. How is that possible? It depends on the individual. Have you ever thought about why young people are healthy and so full of life? And why some people keep this condition …

How Much Does a Triathlon Cost? Part I: Swimming

Published by Anna Kazakova

A triathlete – is a person who doesn’t understand that one sport is hard enough. So… congratulations! You are one of them! Being that you’re here, you’re probably on your way to completing your first triathlon. And I’m sure you already noticed that this hobby/sport/lifestyle is pretty expensive. Read-on and learn useful tips on how to minimize costs of triathlon equipment as a beginner. Follow the links and click on images to easily shop the equipment you need for the best price we could find.  If we consider the sports associated with a triathlon—swimming, biking, and running—the expenses triple. Instead of one sport, it’s three—making it more difficult to train. Before buying equipment, consider some options. Everything started in water – Life on the planet Earth began in water, and so does a triathlon. In this article we will try to cover all possible expenses you might have during the preparation and participation of a triathlon race. Swimming Triathletes wear everything they need from the get-go. After all, transition-time counts! Wetsuits If you’re competing in …

How I crossed Bosphorus

Published by Anna Kazakova

At 20:45 I arrived at St Görans Hospital emergency entrance. I took a number, registered myself then had a seat. That evening I was supposed to be at my place relaxing and sharing my emotions after the Bosphorus Cross Continental Race. It’s been a week since the event and I still couldn’t find the energy and inspiration to write about it. That’s right my friends, your brave life advisor landed herself in the hospital. A taxi cab swerved into me while biking to the gym. Not my lucky day! Suddenly, at 21:00 and still waiting for a doctor to examine me, I was hit with a rush of inspiration – so I broke out my laptop and began writing. BOSPHORUS  I don’t know about you, but I have a Bucket list* and every summer I try to cross off at least one event. Last year, for example, I went sky diving over St. Petersburg, Russia as well as deep-sea diving in the Atlantic Ocean in Spain. This year I planned to swim from Asia to …

Wish me luck: Crossing the Bosphorus Today

Published by Anna Kazakova

Today is the race day. Today is a big day. Not every day we have an opportunity to swim from Asia to Europe. So hello, the 26 th Bosphorus Cross-Continental Race, I have been waiting for you for a year! As you already know, I have been in Istanbul for a few days already, preparing for the race. Follow my adventure on Instagram @lifeasaninvestment and @angelwithoutwing and cross your fingers for good luck at 10 a.m. (Istanbul time).           And don’t forget to check up for updates on the blog or our facebook page.